iw4L/docs/WINDOWS.md

Portable Windows folder

Players download iw4l-windows.zip from the GitHub release; it holds the executable. A server operator hands out the .iw4l-server descriptor separately. make release packs every .iw4l-server in the root folder unchanged into iw4l-windows-community.zip; make launcher windows writes the same under dist/windows/. The archive password is t.me/contextrot. Extract into a dedicated writable folder:

IW4L/
├── iw4l.exe
├── Modern Warfare 2.lnk
├── Black Ops.lnk            optional
├── Modern Warfare 3.lnk     optional
├── community.iw4l-server    optional
└── iw4l-artifacts/          created on first launch: saves, caches, demos, logs

iw4l.exe licenses prints the licence and notice texts compiled into the executable. The runtime reads the installations those shortcuts point to. MW2 multiplayer data is required for the menu; BO1 and MW3 are optional. For each missing title, iw4l.exe checks the Steam libraries and creates its shortcut when exactly one install has supported multiplayer data. Existing shortcuts and titles already found in the configured folders are preserved. If several installs qualify, create a shortcut to the one you want. If MW2 is still missing, the launcher shows the folders it tried and how to add the shortcut: right-click inside the launcher folder, New > Shortcut, paste the game folder path.

Launch iw4l.exe. Before starting the game or contacting QUIC, it checks its community's HTTPS manifest. An unchanged executable starts normally. An update is downloaded, decompressed with a size limit and verified against SHA-256. A temporary copy of the same executable waits for the original process, replaces it and restarts with the original arguments. Failed installation or spawning restores the previous executable. There is no permanent second executable.

The temporary files are iw4l.update.exe, iw4l.previous.exe and a helper in %TEMP%; the next verified startup removes the backup and helper. The lock file iw4l-artifacts/iw4l.update.lock serializes update checks; the artifacts directory is created as needed beside the executable. iw4l.update-helper records cleanup. Update checks log DNS/TLS settings, HTTP results, download bytes/percentage/speed, verification and handoff steps to the console and iw4l-artifacts/logs/. If checking or downloading fails, the reason is logged and the installed game starts with the selected community. Online play still needs a reachable master and a compatible version. DNS/connect waits are limited to 8s; each HTTP request to 180s. Without a community descriptor, local development can launch without checking.

A descriptor pins a public CA and the master's TLS name for both HTTPS and QUIC. Use a descriptor from a trusted source: its operator can distribute executable updates. Its settings take precedence over the legacy master environment keys. One adjacent .iw4l-server is selected automatically. With several, choose under Options → Community Servers → Apply & Restart; the choice is saved beside the executable in iw4l.community.json. With no choice, the menu opens offline; IW4L_COMMUNITY overrides the saved choice. Invalid adjacent descriptors are skipped. See MASTER.md.

On Windows, the executable directory is the working directory; .env and IW4L_GAMES can override game discovery. Publishing: DEPLOY.md.